Monday, April 23, 2007

SPQR

Tera was the only one who said 'I know what that means!' (clever girl...).

I've decided it's time to offer you all a little free knowledge (because that's what teachers do, right?).

AND, from now on, when people in the restaurant ask what SPQR means, I am just going to send them here to my blog. Because since I talk so fast, they usually don't understand me anyway.

So now, with no further delay, please allow me to present you with today's (very brief) history lesson.

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SPQR stands for Senatus Populusque Romanus. which translates into 'The Senate and the people of Rome.' It refers to the government of the ancient Roman Republic and the emperors, who considered themselves representatives of the people (even though the senate and most of the laws were made of the emperor's will).

When people at work ask, I pretend to get real excited and say 'Oh! I love that question.' and I then proceed to bore them with the ancient historical context of Rome, ending with this: 'SOOO, it basically means that the senate and the people worked together for the good of all of Rome.'

In Rome today, many public features, such as manhole covers, columns, and cement grates, still say SPQR on them.

For a recent connection, in the movie Gladiator, SPQR is the tattoo that you see Russell Crowe knifing off of his arm.

For a more detailed explanation, including the historical context and modern variants, please refer to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SPQR, which is where I thieved the information for this short history lesson.

For a more detailed look at my restaurant, please refer to http://www.spqrnz.co.nz. The pictures are quite nice...